December 31, 2008 at 11:14 pm (Choosing a Publisher, Distribution, Tips, copyright, self-publishing, writing)
Tags: Advice, book, copyright, copywriting, lyrics, music, publishing, self-publishing, writing
Copyright infringement is not a pleasant topic. Some self-publishing authors find themselves in trouble without even knowing it, by doing something as innocent as including the lyrics from their favorite songs in their book.
Music is one of the most protected copyrightable works; infringement of copyright can carry heavy fines for which the author is responsible. If you are going to use the lyrics from a song in your book, you will need to have permission from the original copyright holder. This includes cases where you are only using a stanza or two and sometimes even if you are using anything more than a single line.
Only song lyrics created and first published prior to 1923 are in the Public Domain in the United States. If the song was created after that, you will need permission to use it (or parts of it) in your work.
There are two great resources on the Internet for finding the rights holders for most music and song lyrics, from the two leading music entities, ASCAP and BMI, respectively:
http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?mode=search
http://www.bmi.com/licensing
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December 28, 2008 at 1:04 pm (Book Promotion)
Tags: Amazon, bestseller, book, Outskirts Press, promotion, Sally Shields, self publish
Sally Shields is a speaker, radio personality and author of the Outskirts Press #1 Amazon.com bestseller, The Daughter-in-Law Rules: 101 Surefire Ways to Manage (and Make Friends with) Your Mother-in-Law!
This Bestseller Strategy is so powerful, yet so simple, it turned Sally’s book into a bestseller overnight, and she is passionate about helping others do the same.
So many authors can benefit from this type of knowledge, as the publishing industry has changed so much. Even if you are signed with a top Publisher such as a Simon and Schuster or a Wiley or Random House, unless your are Deepak Chopra or Wayne Dyer, you are going to have to do your own publicity.
With this program, you will discover one of the most powerful almost zero-cost internet strategies that will help you gain massive visibility, credibility and prestige, boost your sales, get the media and influential industry insiders such as literary agents, book editors, and foreign rights buyers to sit up and take notice!
A 5 week mentoring course with bestselling author Sally Shields— 100% money-back guaranteed. If you’re ready to reach more readers with your message and your book, this may be just the course you have been looking for. Begins in early January.
www.sallyshields.com/coaching/
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December 27, 2008 at 7:23 pm (Book Review of the Week)
Tags: 12 step, book pleasures, book review, bookpleasures, self publish, Stepping Into Joy
Stepping Into Joy
by Randall Green
This self-published Twelve-Step Programs book was recently reviewed on bookpleasures.com.
In Stepping Into Joy, Dr. Randall Green bears his own soul in order to make clear the path he and countless others have taken to achieve authentic joy. In these pages you will discover a refreshing approach to our endless quest for spiritual fulfillment. Using the Twelve Steps of Recovery as the core solution to mankind’s “quiet desperation”, Dr. Green adds the spices of real-life stories, pithy slogans, humorous anecdotes, and a few “old Kentucky sayings” just for the fun of it. Building on the premise that addiction is a physical disease with a spiritual solution, the Twelve Steps are offered as “guides to progress” in the journey to spiritual wholeness. Although Randy Green is unashamedly committed to his Christian faith, the spiritual principles he extrapolates are non-partisan in application. This is not a book on religion. It is not a book for or against religion. This is a book about true spirituality and how to experience it amid the real stressors and challenges of today’s post-modern culture. Regardless of the addictions, compulsive behaviors, or attachments that may plague our lives, we will be led closer and closer to the joy we all seek as we commit ourselves to living out these twelve spiritual principles one day at a time.
Read the full review here.
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December 24, 2008 at 11:43 pm (Choosing a Publisher, Tips, self-publishing)
Tags: Amazon, book doctor, e-book, Kindle, self-publishing, writing
E-Books
Q: I am working on formatting and editing a nonfiction book designed to be both an e-book and a published hard-copy book. I will also likely end up doing the work to get this work accepted by a publisher. Can you tell me, have e-books become popular yet, or is the core of publishing still in paper and not looking to move forward?
A: Most publishers I know that help authors produce e-books and printed books are not traditional publishers; that is, they produce print-on-demand books and do not stockpile books or distribute them to stores. They simply print one at a time when they are ordered, so there’s no major investment on their part and no advance on royalties to you. Basically if you sell a book, you get a percentage of the profit, but if you yourself don’t sell it, the printer won’t go to any trouble to sell it for you.
As far as the popularity of e-books, several companies have tried to produce machines (Kindle and others) to make e-books more attractive to readers, but still e-books lag far behind printed books when it comes to sales. Still, after an e-book is created, you incur no further cost to reproduce and distribute it when sold, so e-books can provide one-hundred percent profit to authors who have a client base and can promote their own books or sell them through their own Web sites.
What would you like to ask a book doctor? Send your questions to Bobbie Christmas at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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December 22, 2008 at 3:59 pm (Book Promotion)
Tags: book, Dan Poynter, promotion, self publish
When it comes to promoting your self-published book, nothing beats free! Here’s a quick little site where you can submit your book information for a free listing. There are a lot of these types of sites out there, but this one belongs to Dan Poynter, who promotes endlessly and drives many, many people to his website all the time. It will take about 5 minutes of your time. While you are on his site, I recommend exploring other options and opportunities he has available.
http://parapublishing.com/sites/para/resources/successstories.cfm
Good luck and have fun!
Kelly Schuknecht
selfpublishingadvice.wordpress.com
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December 20, 2008 at 3:57 pm (Book Review of the Week)
Tags: book, book review, review, Sammy the Panda, self publish
Sammy the Panda’s World of Colors and Shapes
by Haliyma Barrow
Illustrated by Danielle MacIndoe
READING LEVEL: ages 4-6
RATING: 5 stars
REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker
Little Sammy Panda is sad. His cousins Milly and Tilly have misplaced the different colored shapes of his favorite toy set, “The Ship of Shapes.” His Mommy seems to know what will cheer him up, so she helps him look for the one gold star, the two green triangles, the three orange circles, and so forth. Will they find them all? And will Sammy be happy again?
What a neat idea! My wife and I homeschooled our children, and when they were little we were always looking for fun and colorful tools to help them learn their numbers, colors, and shapes. Whether you plan to homeschool your toddlers or prepare them for traditional school, this book is a great resource for accomplishing that very purpose. With striking full-color illustrations on every page that youngsters should find appealing, this is probably one of those books that they will ask to be read to them over and over. Parents who are interested in developing bilingualism will appreciate the added benefit that the text at each opening is in both English and Spanish. I give this book two thumbs up!
Visit the author’s website: www.sammythepanda.com
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December 18, 2008 at 7:55 pm (Book Promotion)
Tags: book, Jim Lehrer, NewsHour, pitching, producer, promoting, publishing, self publish
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer attracts over 3 million viewers each night to PBS and most of them are avid readers.
The arts and culture producers are your best bets for pitching your self-published book if you cannot find a more specific producer based upon your subject matter. (I have included additional producers, their contact information, and their subjects of specialization below).
Email the producer in advance and mention that you will be sending them a copy of your book. Then, mail them a copy along with your press release, sales sheet (if you have one) and any additional information that would be helpful. Then, about 2 weeks later, follow-up via email again and inquire about the book.
Media, Arts and Culture
Anne Davenport
annedavenport@newshour.org
Jeff Brown
jbrown@newshour.org
International Affairs
Mike Mosettig
mmosettig@newshour.org
National Affairs (including economics, finance, science, and sports)
Murray Jacobson
mjacobson@newshour.org
Congressional Affairs
Jim Trengrove
jtrengrove@newshour.org
Education, law, politics
Linda Winslow
lwinslow@newshour.org
Send your book to the appropriate producer’s attention at:
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
3620 27th St. South
Arlington, VA 22206
Good luck and have fun!
Kelly Schuknecht
selfpublishingadvice.wordpress.com
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December 17, 2008 at 11:27 pm (Tips, editing, self-publishing, writing)
Tags: book doctor, commas, editing, writing, writing tips
Commas
Q: How would you punctuate the following sentence? Would you delete the comma after the first “that?” Would you delete both commas?
Mr. Smith concluded with the vague assertion that, if he ever gets a handle on the IRS situation, he will attempt to pay the client and asked that we call him in ninety days.
A: I would delete the first comma and let the first part of the sentence act as a single introductory phrase. I would also separate his conclusion from his request, so I would write it this way: Mr. Smith concluded with the vague assertion that if he ever gets a handle on the IRS situation, he will attempt to pay the client. He asked that we call him in ninety days.
You could argue that both commas could be left, thereby setting aside the nonessential phrase, “if he ever gets a handle on the IRS situation.” I stand by the fact that what he concluded and what he asked should appear in separate sentences.
What would you like to ask a book doctor? Send your questions to Bobbie Christmas at Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.
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